"Where there is smoke, there's fire," Dimon said in an
interview with Charlie Rose on PBS, televised on Monday. "I
think the Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate
it, okay? I think if someone knowingly starts a rumor or passes
on a rumor, they should go to jail."

JPMorgan completed its fire-sale acquisition of Bear
Stearns in May, following that bank's stock plunge and collapse
earlier this year.

Trading volumes in Bear shares spiked in the days before
the buyout of what was once the fifth-largest U.S. investment
bank. Some media reports have suggested that rumors spread by
short sellers betting on a fall in Bear Stearns' share price
helped to finish off the bank.

"This is even worse than insider trading. This is
deliberate and malicious destruction of value and people's
lives," Dimon said. "They shouldn't go to jail for a short
period of time. If I was the SEC, I'd find out who made the
money and I'd investigate like they do when they come after us
all the time, emails, phone records, you name it, and I'd find
out."
(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Lincoln Feast)